Ireland
This past month has been full of travel, work... and more travel! It's been really fun, but also had its shares of highs and lows amidst the chaos (especially when you're adapting to different timezones). We spent a full week in Ireland and traveled by air, car, and train all over this beautiful country. I'm so glad that Malia and Shaun's destination wedding allowed us to visit such a cool place - this was certainly a trip I'll never forget.
Dublin
We started the trip off in Dublin for a few nights. It was a combo of work and play, which was actually nice because I loved working from the Dublin office. It was way bigger than I expected and had the coolest vibe. We loved being able to walk to work in the morning too.
Although it was freezing, I spent a day exploring the city on my own by foot, and I loved every second of it. I made my way to St. Stephen's Green, Dublin Castle, Grafton Street, and Trinity College. My favorite parts of the day were drinking the delicious hot cocoa from Butler's and stumbling upon the famous hanging umbrellas! I'd seen them before on Pinterest :-) Later that day, Lorena, Brendon and I walked to a local pub on Grafton (where I had a water and a salad lol) and then we wandered around a bit more. Dublin is SUCH a charming city. I love how the old and the new collide, and amidst the grey backdrop there were still lots of vibrant colors, if you pay close enough attention.
Galway
From Dublin, we drove a couple of hours to Galway, which is on the west coast of Ireland. All I could think about the whole time was Ed Sheeran's "Galway Girl" song. It is such a quaint, romantic, little town by the water that I absolutely adored. Definitely the PERFECT place for an Irish wedding. We stayed at The Twelve Hotel (the wedding venue) in Barna, which was about 20 minutes from Eyre Square, or the city center of Galway. I loved exploring Shop Street - it was everything you think of when you think of Ireland. Also, I cherished my morning runs where I'd run down to the beach and stretch each morning. It was BEAUTIFUL!
Pre-Wedding Dinner
Saturday night before the wedding, we had a laid back dinner party at the house for Malia and Shaun. Just imagine a lot of food, a two-person Irish band, and lots of laughter. It was a very cozy and fun night but the best part was seeing all of the families come together.
Malia + Shaun's Wedding Day
Sunday, April 15th came and went with amazing success! It was an Irish wedding to remember, full of delicious food, tons of accents, and of course, lots of dancing. Mercy was the cutest little flower girl - she looked absolutely adorable in her own wedding robe. She ran around the entire night and even graced us with her ballet moves during the first dance. She also loved taking pictures in the photo booth. You could definitely sense all of the love and happiness in the room during the ceremony and the reception. One of the funniest moments was being entrusted to the their 10-year wine box (everyone knows Derek and I would keep it safe and untouched) :-) I'm so happy for Malia and Shaun and can't wait to watch them grow together as husband and wife!
